Former CMC boss sues capital markets regulator over sacking

Former CMC Holdings Chief Executive Officer Martin Forster, has moved to court challenging the decision by Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to axe him from directorship positions three years ago. Mr Forster, in his case filed in the High Court registry is seeking to be compensated by the regulator for what he says damaged his reputation.

This is after CMA ordered that he be disqualified from being a director of any listed company over CMC Holdings saga. In his case papers, Forster said he has neither seen the findings of an ad hoc committee, nor was he given an opportunity to defend himself. He argued that the regulator used a secret dossier prepared by a South African law firm to kick him out of management. “The board of CMA relied on the said secret report to make various adverse determinations and resolutions against the petitioner and to impose drastic sanctions, penalties and offenses on the petitioner,” he argued in his court papers, adding that the resolution was a prejudgement. CMA authorised Webber Wentzel to scrutinise the firm and make a report which strengthened investigations that involved the regulator.